Be it known that I, JOSEPH F. Moons, a citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Brushes, of which the following is a specification.

- This invention relates to brushes.

- The object of the invention is to provide a brush of such construction that the bristles thereof may readily be removed and others substituted therefor, thereby allowing the use of a number of sets of bristles consecutively with one back.

Further the object of the invention is to provide a brush having the bristles thereof capable of ready removal, and which shall be of such construction as to secure the parts against se aration by the strain to which the brushwou d be subjected when in use.

. With these objects in view the invention consists of a' brush having the general and specific features of construction and arrangement of parts, substantially as hereinafter described and claimed.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which I have shown it as applied to a tooth brush, but as will be clear'from an understanding of the invention it is equally applicable to hair brushes,

clot-hes brushes and the like.

In this drawing, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a tooth brushwith my invention incorporated therein; Fig-"2 is a perspective view of the handle portion of the brush, the bristle portion being removed therefrom; and Fig. 3 is a side view of the bristle por- .tion of the brush, removed from the handle.

In this drawing 1 represents the handle of the brush, which in the embodiment of the invention shown in. the drawing is' a tooth brush. The handle may be made of any desired material such as bone, plastic material or metal. As one handle may and is. designed to be used with an unlimited number of brushes successively and for an indefinite time, it may be of silver or other cosatly metal "without being expensive in the en 4 The handle as shown is provided near the end at which the bristles are to be placed with a socket 2 formed by the wall 3 ad-.

- pose.

'the use of the article.

jacent to that part of the handle which is grasped in use, a similar wall 4 at the end of the brush and a flange 5 extending along one side of the handle. By this construction one side of the soc et is left open to allow the introduction and emoval of the bristle portion of the brush.

The socket may be so formed as to secure the bristle portion therein or it may be pro- Vided with supplemental means for the pur- F or instance "the inner face of each wall 3 and 4: may be so formed as to incline inward into the socket each forming a slight overhang which will engage the bristle por tion and serve to retain the latter in place.

The bristle portion of the brush consists of the back 6 to which are attached and from which extend bristles, felt or other material which may be used instead of bristles. The back 6 preferably corresponds in thickness to the length of the walls 3 and 4 and is of a length and width adapting it to fit snugly into and entirely fill the socket in the handle. The ends 7, 7, of the back 6 are of a shape to conform to that of the inner faces of the walls 3 and 4. When the walls are made with this overhang as shown in-Fig. 2, the back 7 is beveled as shown in Fig. 3, so that when introduced into the socket the parts will be secured together.

A groove or de ression 8 is formed in the bottom of the soc et, and the back 6 of the bristle portion is formed with a rib 9. The location of the rib is such that when the bristle portion is in place in the socket the rib will enter the groove or depression. As the bottom of the socket is comparatively thin it will yield as the bristle ortion with the rib is forced into place, an will sphing back into place when the rib enters the groove and thus b the resiliency of the handle the parts wil be held in place a inst any strain imposed upon it in use. y exertingla slight pressure in the proper direction t e bristle portion may be removed and another substituted The form of the brush described is such 1 that rigid walls are provided to retain the bristle portion against dis lacement by force in the direction in whic it is applied in Removal of the bristle portion being possible only by application of pressure in the direction contrary Q to that to which it is subjected in use, the

accidental se arat-ion of the parts is ren dered impossl 1e.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

A brushhaving a handle 'provided with a socket having a groove in the bottom thereof, and a bristle portion provided with a of the socket, su

back having a rib V adapted to enter the 10 groove'and with ands en ging the end walls tantia y as described. In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.